RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Rockbridge County >> Sycamore Valley >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Sycamore Valley, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sycamore Valley and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • Astronomy & Satellites ...
    • Whether using binoculars, a small telescope or the naked-eye, the Heavens-Above website can help you to find your way around the night-time sky. In addition to detailed sky charts, their website will help you find planets, asteriods, comets, satellites and their tracks across the sky.
    • To give accurate results, Heavens-Above requires the latitude and longitude of your location. As a starting point, when we link to Heavens-Above, we pass this GPS location for Sycamore Valley:
    • 37.877074, -79.505596
    • Once you're on the Heavens-Above website, you can improve its accuracy by giving a more precise longitude and latitude as your actual position.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Sycamore Valley
  • Bird Watching ...
    • We enjoy finding new spots for bird watching and we use the eBird website for local sighting reports and to help identify hotspots.
    • The eBird website is organized on a county-by-county basis. We have selected Rockbridge County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Rockbridge County
    • Since Sycamore Valley is near Covington City and also Lexington City, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Covington City
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Lexington City
  • Waymarking ...
    • Looking for somewhere out of the ordinary? Find a unique place and want to share it with others? Then it's time to visit Waymarking.com:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Sycamore Valley

Communities Also Named Sycamore Valley ...

We found two communities that are also named Sycamore Valley.

Within Virginia, the name Sycamore Valley is unique.

Beyond Virginia, we know of two communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Ohio
      • Monroe County
      • This Sycamore Valley is located in Monroe County and lies 154 miles [247.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Sycamore Valley that is located in Rockbridge County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Monroe County community of Sycamore Valley.
    • Tennessee
      • Macon County
      • This Sycamore Valley is located in Macon County and lies 365 miles [587.4 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Sycamore Valley that is located in Rockbridge County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Macon County community of Sycamore Valley.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Sycamore Valley ...

As we travel, we always see a community with a name that gives pause. While there are names which are interesting or familiar, some catch our attention or strike our fancy. We always wonder about such a name. If time permits and the community is not too far, we'll usually try to make a side-trip.

  • California
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • California is located in Rockbridge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for California
  • Cedar Grove
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Cedar Grove is located in Rockbridge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
  • Crane
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Crane is located in Bath County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crane
  • Crossroads Store
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Crossroads Store is located in Rockbridge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crossroads Store
  • Denmark
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Denmark is located in Rockbridge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
  • Fredericksburg
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Fredericksburg is located in Rockbridge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredericksburg
  • Longdale Furnace
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Longdale Furnace is located in Alleghany County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longdale Furnace
  • Maple Grove
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Maple Grove is located in Rockbridge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
  • Mountain View
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Mountain View is located in Rockbridge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain View
  • Mudtown
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Mudtown is located in Lexington City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mudtown
  • Timber Ridge
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Timber Ridge is located in Rockbridge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Ridge

How Far From Sycamore Valley to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Sycamore Valley to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Sycamore Valley and extending to:

  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 115 miles [185.1 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Sycamore Valley to Richmond, with an average speed<2>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 151 miles [243 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,046 miles [9,730.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,753 miles [10,867.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,629 miles [7,449.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Sycamore Valley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we have tried to pick reasonable speeds, the rate of travel is very theoretical - obstacles like fences, hills, lakes, river crossings and rest stops have been ignored. When we say 'Days' of travel, we're assuming 8 hours of travel per day.
<3>The shortest line can be visualized by stretching a string on a Globe from Point A to Point B - this is known as a Great Circle Route. Where you might expect the shortest route from Sycamore Valley to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sycamore Valley. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.8771, Longitude: -79.5056       In this case, the coordinates for Sycamore Valley have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.397 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.001 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.118 degrees.